Re-Embroidering the Robe
Faith, Myth and Literary Creation since 1850
Published on 4. June 2008
Book
Hardback
290 pages
978-1-84718-608-9 (ISBN)
Description
Religious faith, myths and legends have always been present in literature. However, their role has changed over time. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, with the diminishing role of religion in European society, writers with some kind of belief system, whether religious or political, have tended to use myth in two different ways.They have either retold the old, familiar myths of the past so that they carry fresh messages relevant to a contemporary audience or created their own, new myths as modern vehicles of traditional truths. Many writers have combined the two techniques.Such is the transforming artistry which the eighteen essays in Re-Embroidering the Robe examine: the remaking or new-minting of myth, in literature from 1850 to the present day, so that what it embodies and expresses speaks powerfully to the modern reader. In widely differing ways, therefore, all of the texts analysed here compel attention.
Reviews / Votes
'This fascinating and timely collection of essays explores the diverse uses and inflections of myth in European literary culture since 1850. The scope of its engagements is ambitious, and includes Victorian, Modernist and postmodern texts, in French as well as English. The collection is carefully structured, with helpful introductions to each section. The essays contextualize and discuss in innovative ways a remarkable miscellany of literature for both adults and children, from the familiar Chronicles of Narnia to the unfamiliar world of Estonian mythology, from explorations of orthodox Christian faith to diverse expressions of paganism ranging from Swinburne to Yourcenar.'Dr William Gray, Reader in Literary History and HermeneuticsUniversity of Chichester 'The book will undoubtedly command the attention and respect of its targeted audience, the academic community. But there also exists a very large general readership, both Anglo-American and European, for whom this book will also have a significant appeal.'Chris MitchellProfessor of Christian Thought at Wheaton College, Illinois and Director of the Marion E. Wade Center
More details
Edition
Unabridged edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Newcastle upon Tyne
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Edition type
Unabridged edition
Product notice
With dust jacket
Dimensions
Height: 212 mm
Width: 148 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-84718-608-9 (9781847186089)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Peter Merchant Adrienne E. Gavin Suzanne Bray
Re-Embroidering the Robe
Faith, Myth and Literary Creation since 1850
E-Book
10/2009
1st Edition
Cambridge Scholars Publishing
€93.89
Available for download
Persons
Suzanne Bray is Professor of English Studies at Lille Catholic University in France. She specialises in the areas of history of ideas and literature and theology, mainly in Britain, during the 20th century. Her PhD examined the success of four Christian authors (G. K. Chesterton, T. S. Eliot, C. S. Lewis and Dorothy L. Sayers) during the period 1900 to 1963. She publishes in both French and English and her latest book, C. S. Lewis: la vocation d'un best-seller, was published by Imago in October 2007.Adrienne E. Gavin is a Reader in English Literature at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK where she specializes in Victorian Literature, Children's Literature, and Crime Fiction. She is author of Dark Horse: A Life of Anna Sewell (2004) and co-editor of Mystery in Children's Literature: From the Rational to the Supernatural (2001) and the forthcoming Childhood in Edwardian Fiction: Worlds Enough and Time.Peter Merchant gained his doctorate at Cambridge University and has worked since 1983 at Canterbury Christ Church University, UK, where he is Subject Leader for English. A Victorian specialist, he is the editor of three Wordsworth Classics (A Tale of Two Cities, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, and The Way We Live Now) and has contributed essays to journals including The Dickensian, Dickens Quarterly, Victorian Poetry, Eighteenth-Century Fiction, and Recusant History.